Legacy 1x02: Dark Forces Rising
by Lady Dawson
Summary: Complete. A poisoning is affecting innocents throughout San Francisco and Chris, Wyatt, Susan, and Brooke must find the source of it before its too late. Meanwhile, Susan must deal with a new Whitelighter and the aftermath of her kiss with Chris.
1. The New Whitelighter

**Legacy: Dark Forces Rising**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter One: The New Whitelighter

Brooke Murphy was only half-awake when she headed into the kitchen, pouring herself some coffee, but she could sense the anxiety in Susan Dawson as she tried to escape the apartment before seven. "You know, you're not going to solve anything that way," she commented.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Susan said as she picked up her purse off of the table. "I've just got some stuff to take care of today."

"Right, like you've had stuff to do every morning this week?" Brooke said dryly. Susan said nothing as she averted her gaze. "Sue, you're going to have to talk to him eventually. So the two of you kissed, it's not the end of the world. You need to talk to him."

"Or I could just go out and do the stuff that I have to do today," Susan responded, looking highly annoyed. "Brooke, what gives you the right to think that you can go barging into my life without so much as knocking? It's rude and aggravating."

"Which is half of the fun," Brooke said, grinning. Susan glared at her and Brooke held up her hands. "Fine, do what you want. But you know, Chris is not going away. He is still going to be our next door neighbour and you cannot avoid him forever."

"Do you get some kind of sick, twisted pleasure out of watching me squirm?" Susan wondered as she left the kitchen.

Not even a split second later, Susan let out a shriek. Brooke dropped the coffee and hurried into the living room just in time to see the witchlighter flying across the room and slamming into the wall. The demon that'd appeared in the room turned towards Brooke.

"Well, well, two witches. This should be an interesting start to the morning," he commented, conjuring an energy ball in his hands. Brooke glared at him, her brown eyes blazing as she raised her hands, summoning the powers of the earth to cause an earthquake.

"It's so nice to be in earthquake country, where people don't question this," she remarked as the quake threw the demon off balance. The energy ball went flying towards Brooke. By then, Susan had recovered and conjured up winds to send the energy ball back to its caster and the demon went up in flames.

Letting out a sigh as they were alone once again, Susan looked towards Brooke, placing her hands onto her hips. "Why is it that we can't have a normal morning around here?" she wanted to know. Brooke shook her head just as clapping caught their attention.

Both girls whirled around to look at the newcomer, electricity starting to crackle at Susan's fingertips as they did so. The guy that was standing behind them was about their age, nineteen, and quite handsome, Brooke had to admit. He had long brown hair that hung in curls around his face and determined blue eyes. But he seemed . . .

Brooke let out a sigh. "What is it with familiar guys in this town?" she whispered, studying the newcomer closely. But he seemed even _more_ familiar than that kid had.

Susan didn't bother with courtesies. "All right, who are you and what do you want?" she demanded, taking a step forward. The guy held up his hands peacefully and took a step back. Brooke frowned; he obviously was no stranger to Susan's temper, even though she didn't lose it very often.

"Relax, Susan, I come in peace." He was smiling at the both of them, though Brooke noticed it was a little strained as he looked at her.

Her friend wasn't amused, however. As she glared at him, she said in a calm voice, "That doesn't really answer my question, now does it? Who are you, what do you want, and thirdly, how did you know my name?" Her blue eyes were narrowed slightly.

"Simple enough questions," he replied, folding his arms across his chest in a manner that seemed all too familiar. "My name's Brandon. Brandon James. And as for how I know your name and what I want, that's easy . . ." He grinned. "I'm your new Whitelighter."

--

"So apparently, Sam's got herself a new boyfriend," Wyatt Halliwell remarked as his brother Chris flipped through the newspaper, not really reading it, but not paying attention to Wyatt either. His thoughts were focused entirely on the girl next door that he'd kissed last week on top of the Golden Gate Bridge. "Chris? Hey, little brother, are you listening?"

"Nope," Chris said dimly without looking up.

"You're not at all interested with one of our cousins being picked up by some jerk?" Wyatt asked incredulously. Chris shrugged, turning the page of the paper. "Are you actually reading that?"

"No."

Wyatt shook his head. "Well, if you're not looking at the paper and you're not paying attention to me, then you're obviously worried about something." Chris glanced up at his older brother. "Come on, Chris, I know you just as well as you know yourself and I know when something's bothering you. Spill it. What's going on?"

"I'm not worried about anything!" Chris insisted. "I'm not!" he added when Wyatt gave him a disbelieving look. "Look, I've just got some stuff going on and I don't want to elaborate on it."

Pushing the paper aside, Chris ran a hand over his eyes as female voices started to rise through the walls. Wyatt looked towards the apartment next door, then to Chris.

"Is it about Susan?" he asked, frowning.

Chris said nothing as Wyatt shook his head. "Okay, if you are _this_ hung over a girl, then just go over and ask her out, Chris. What's the worst that could happen?"

"I kissed her."

Wyatt stopped, staring at his brother in a mixture of shock and amazement. "You did what?"

"I . . . kissed . . . her . . ." Chris said, speaking slowly so his brother couldn't misinterpret his meaning.

A triumphant smile spread across Wyatt's face and he crowed. "YES! So I was right, then!" Chris rolled his eyes at his brother's insanity. "When did you kiss her, anyway?"

"When she and I left the club," Chris said with a sigh. "And I took her up onto the Bridge."

"You kissed her on top of Golden Gate Bridge?" Wyatt repeated, trying to control his laughter. He tried to calm down when Chris gave him a furious look, though this attempt failed miserably. "Not bad, little brother, not bad at all. So what happened after that?"

"She . . . left," Chris said lamely. "I took her home and she's been avoiding me since then."

Letting out a low whistle, Wyatt shook his head. "Either you're really bad at kissing or she's got some major problems," he remarked. "That's bad, considering who we are. We should have girls coming to warfare over us."

"Knock it off, Wy," Chris said, annoyed. "I know something happened to her back in Wisconsin and she's having a hard time dealing with it. It's just . . . I wish she wouldn't run from _me_."

Wyatt stared at his brother before glancing down at the paper. "Hey, check this out," he remarked, picking up the clipping. "'Five students attending the local university were found dead over the past week. The doctors examining them claim that while they are sure that poisoning took place, it is unclear what kind of poison it is. Anyone with information should contact the police.'"

"Some kind of poison?" Chris repeated, looking over his brother's shoulder at the paper. "Does it say what kind of effects they had?"

"Yeah, apparently the poison was just hit in a small point, like a insect bite or something and it started spreading throughout their system. It happened so slowly that they weren't sure what happened until it was too late." Wyatt slowly started folding up the paper and looked at his brother. "You know, maybe you should ask Susan to go investigate this with you. Sounds pretty demonic. Maybe somebody will know something in the Underworld."

"Yeah, it does," Chris agreed. "But I don't think that getting Susan to go demon hunting is the best way to get the relationship off of the rocks that it's on. I know you've got a problem talking about your feelings with girls, but that's not how—"

"At the very least, it'll make her talk to you," Wyatt said, exasperation in his voice. "Or I could go and talk to Brooke for you, if you want."

"No!"

"Then go ask her to check it out with you. I don't think she would turn you down when innocents are in trouble." Wyatt stood up. "I have to head over to work. You gonna check it out?"

"Yeah," Chris sighed. "I'll see you later."

As his brother left, he glanced down at the paper before grabbing it to go over to the girls' apartment. Just as he closed the door to his own, he saw a guy being practically thrown out of Susan's apartment by Susan herself.

--Opening Credits—

Title Song: "Chariot" by Gavin Degraw

Drew Fuller as Chris Halliwell

Wes Ramsey as Wyatt Halliwell

Michelle Trachtenberg as Susan Dawson

Anne Hathaway as Brooke Murphy

and Hayden Christensen as Brandon James


	2. Alley Wanderings

**Legacy: Dark Forces Rising**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Two: Alley Wanderings

All it took for Susan to start shoving Brandon James out of the apartment was for him to tell him that he had been sent by the Elders to guide her. Blood was thundering in her ears as she placed her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

"Look, I do not care how many charges you've successfully guided," she warned him. "I don't care if you're the top angel Up There, but I do not want or _need_ a Whitelighter, hear me? And more importantly, I'm not _going_ to have one, barring a piano or an equally heavy object falling onto my head and knocking me senseless. Besides, Whitelighters do not need Whitelighters."

"Except you're only one-forth Whitelighter," Brandon responded, giving her a cocky grin. She resisted the urge to swat him and settled for only glaring at him angrily. "Ha! Got you there."

"Whatever," Susan scoffed. "Just go up to your bosses and tell them that I'm not going to have some annoying Whitelighter following me around. Go away and go bother some of your other charges and leave me alone!"

"No need for that," Brandon said lightly. "The Elders gave me the pleasure of your company alone." Susan stared at him, completely confused. "You're my only charge, Susie. So you're stuck with me."

Susan really wanted to hit him now. "Okay, first of all," she warned him. "Do not call me Susie." That was a name that only one person had been allowed to call her and that was Ryan. "Two, I am not stuck with you, Whitelighter boy. You are getting out of my apartment and out of my life. Because I do not want or need you." An amused look crossed his eyes, but other than that he did not show any sign of hearing her temper. "Are you listening to me?"

"Uh . . . you don't want me hanging around you?" Brandon responded, grinning wildly. Susan glared at him, but a little surprised that he wasn't even remotely intimidated by her temper. People were usually surprised that she could lose it and how badly she did. It usually scared them a little bit. "Yeah, I got that part. It's too bad for you, though. I'm not going anywhere."

"Oh, no?" Susan smiled pleasantly and his smile vanished. "Let's see about that."

Summoning up the powers of the weather, she conjured up massive winds and pushed him towards the door. Brooke opened up the door for him as Susan pushed him out of the apartment without the slightly feeling of guilt.

"Get out," she warned him as Brandon got to his feet, looking at her with . . . something. She just could put her finger on what.

"If you need me," he said softly. "Call me. I'll be able to hear your call no matter where I am." Susan shook her head as he orbed out, leaving her alone on the balcony.

"Who was that?"

Susan froze when she heard Chris's voice coming from the hallway. She whirled around, coming face-to-face with him. He was looking at the spot where Brandon had vanished curiously before looking at her.

"Uh . . . apparently, my new Whitelighter," she answered quickly, looking anywhere but at him. "Listen, I got some things—"

"Actually, I was kind of hoping you might be able to help me with something," Chris explained. Susan stopped, looking back at him. "Can we talk inside? It's kind of that talk that we can't talk about in front of the neighbours," he explained, giving her a quick look. That look was all that it took for Susan to know what he wanted to talk about.

Inwardly, Susan relaxed; he didn't want to talk about the kiss, he wanted to talk about demonic stuff. She moved aside and let him inside, noticing the paper that he was carrying.

"Have you seen the newspaper lately?" Chris asked once they were inside. She shook her head and he handed her the clipping. Unfolding it, she read the article on the poisoned students. "Wy and I think that it might be demonic. Usually when it's one of those unsolved mysteries, it's demonic. Not all the time, but more often than not—"

"No, you're right," Susan agreed once she had finished reading. "I definitely think that it's demonic. If it were just the poisoning, then I might disagree, but their friends and family said that they were acting . . . like a different person before they died. It was like they were possessed or something. Not to mention, there's this part about them getting high fevers and shaking before they died."

Chris nodded just as Brooke headed into the kitchen, looking surprised to see the younger Halliwell standing there. "Oh! Hi, Chris. What's going on?" she asked, glancing at Susan.

"Demon activity," Susan piped up before Chris could respond. She folded up the newspaper clipping as she looked up at him. "Okay, well, did you want me to go check it out?"

"I was kind of hoping that we might be able to go investigate together," Chris admitted. "Wyatt's got be at work right now and it's probably not a good idea to go through this alone. At least not until we know what we're dealing with, anyway."

"I think that's a great idea," Brooke said immediately. If looks could kill, then Brooke Murphy would be dead right now due to the look that Susan shot her.

Fortunately, however, people don't die from death looks and Brooke continued on without being intimidated by Susan's glare. "You know, you've been working too hard this week, Sue, trying to get this place into shape and starting that new job at the bookstore. Just go out and help out some innocents. It's your day off, anyway. Now, don't worry about a thing," she added with a huge smile, picking up Susan's bag and jacket, shoving it into her hands. "I will sacrifice myself and go to the grocery store and get the things we need." She plucked the list off of the table. "You two have fun and stay out of trouble."

Before Susan could stop her, the witch-nymph was out of the door and left the two witchlighters by themselves, standing uncomfortably.

"So, uh . . . ready?" Chris asked. Susan sighed, pulled on her jacket and headed after him out the door.

"Do you even have the slightest idea of what we're looking for?" Susan wanted to know. "Or even _where_?"

"No and yes," Chris answered. "No, I don't know what demon it is that's behind this and yes, I happen to have an idea of where. They were all found in the back alleys near the university, so I'm hoping that if we head there, we'll be able to track down the demons."

"Here's hoping," Susan sighed as they piled into Chris's car. She looked out the window as the streets of San Francisco whizzed by, but she kept stealing glancing towards the dark haired witchlighter that was navigating expertly through the streets. And her thoughts never strayed from him.

--

Chris wished that he could keep his mind on the demons instead of the witch who was with him as he parked the car and headed towards the alley that the innocents were found dead in, Susan right behind him. It wasn't the best plan, considering that they were demon hunting.

"So, this is it," Chris said as they walked through the alley. "This is where they were found out."

"Innocents and alleys," Susan remarked, shaking her head dryly. She gave him a small smile. "Don't they ever learn?"

That caused him to laugh and he nodded. "Yeah, tell me about it," he said lightly as they walked further into the alley. Without warning, Susan suddenly stopped, her blue eyes narrowing slightly.

"Susan?" he asked, turning to look at her. She held up a hand to stop him from talking. He knew that she had the power of precognition and could sense things before they happened, which is why he cast a careful glance around them. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea . . .

Just as he was about to tell Susan that they should probably get out of the alley, a fireball came flying out of nowhere and Chris grabbed Susan, pulling her against him as he flung them against the wall, out of danger.

"Who are you two?" A demon had appeared out of nowhere, glaring at the two witchlighters.

_Either these guys really don't know who we are,_ Chris thought tiredly, _or they're getting stupider all the time._ But instead of telling the demon this, he responded with his grip still on Susan, "Why don't you try telling us who _you_ are first?"

"Nice try." The demon smirked. "I'll have your names and then we'll have some nice surprises for you, before we have you join us."

"Dawn," Susan spoke up. The demon looked at her. "My name is Dawn Summers."

"Smart girl," the demon said lightly. "You'd do well to take after your little girlfriend or she'll be going first, boy."

"Did you just call me 'boy'?" Chris said incredulously. Susan suppressed a smile as he looked at her, an amused look on his face. "Perry Matthews."

The demon sniffed. "Well, Miss Summers and Mr. Matthews, we'll have a nice surprise for you today." His eyes flashed as a small handgun appeared in his hand and he fired.

But instead of the explosion that both witchlighters were expecting, it only emitted a soft puff of energy and four small needles fired towards them. Caught of guard, Chris was thrown to the side by Susan as she dived out of the way, grabbing her arm as one of the needles managed to make contact with her hand.

She cursed as she yanked it out, using a lightning bolt to demolish the gun that was in the demon's hands. He looked horrified as he stared at them. "Witches!" he hissed.

Before Chris could blow him away, the demon shimmered away and Chris hurried over to Susan.

"I'm okay," she reassured him, rubbing her hand carefully. Chris frowned, not really believing her. "Really, I'm fine. It just feels a little bit weird, is all." She flexed her hand, staring at it. With a sigh, Chris grabbed her arm, bending down to pick up one of the needles, careful to make sure that it didn't touch his bare skin.

"No, you're not," he told her. "We're going home and we're gonna have Wyatt heal you. Then we're gonna see what's in this thing."

Susan nodded miserably as he steered her towards the car. Just as he opened the door for her and helped her into the car, he added, "Oh, and one more thing . . ." She looked at him, curiosity in her eyes. "Dawn Summers?" he asked with a small smile.

She grinned broadly for the first time since last week and laughed. "It was the first name that came to mind," she replied. Chris rolled his eyes as he shut the door, heading over to the driver's side to climb in himself.

Neither witchlighter noticed just as they were leaving, a certain Whitelighter was watching them from the alley.

Brandon sighed as he watched them go. "Oh, Susan, you can't stay out of trouble, can you?" he whispered, looking back to where the demon had vanished to.

Without waiting for the demon to reappear to attack him, Brandon disappeared in a swirl of orbs.

AN: If anybody can tell me what is so funny about Susan's alias, then I will reward you with a new chapter!


	3. Soul Collectors

**AN:** Wow, every person who reviewed actually got the joke. Maybe my wit is actuallly better than people tell me. Well, as promised, here is the new chapter, which I worked really hard on! Enjoy!

**Legacy: Dark Forces Rising**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Three: Soul Collectors

Brooke groaned slightly as she looked down at the list. "I don't understand her sometimes," she muttered. "It's bad enough that she's avoiding the guy, but then she spends all of her time getting stuff that we don't need. What on earth do we need spices for? Most of them we don't use for potions, so what's the point?"

An old woman stopped to stare at Brooke for a moment and she smiled pleasantly before pushing the cart forward. After a long moment, the old woman left, still eyeing Brooke suspiciously.

"I've got to stop thinking out loud," Brooke muttered as she picked up the spices Susan had on the list. Probably one of the reasons she did it so much was because she had no room to think with everybody's thoughts in her head all the time.

Of course, she didn't need to be a telepath in order to know that Susan was completely and totally heads over heels with Chris. And if she had to guess, she'd say that the younger Halliwell was about the same. She just wished that she knew what the elder Halliwell's feelings were towards _her_. It wasn't so easy to read Wyatt was it was Chris. Not to mention that, she wasn't sure if she _wanted_ to know the answer to that.

"I really hope that this at least makes them work things out, because I cannot stand Susan's constant worrying," Brooke muttered, pushing the cart towards the front of the store. It was just her luck that they were miles long, heading back towards the freezers. Of course, it was probably due to the fact that they only had one register open. Why did stores insist on doing that, especially on a Saturday? she wondered, joining the line.

By the time that she reached the front of the register, there were still a couple people in line and they'd finally gotten a few more registers open. Brooke sighed with relief as she loaded up the groceries onto the register and the cashier bagged them.

"It'll be $20.14," he said. Just as Brooke handed him twenty-five, she realised that she recognised his voice and her head shot up quickly, almost cricking her neck.

Sure enough, it was the kid that had helped them the week previously. "What are you doing here?" she whispered as his eyes widened, recognising her. But he said nothing, shaking his head wildly, casting a quick look around them, obviously worried about being seen with her. "Hey, I asked you a question!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said quickly, handing her the correct change. "$4.86 is your change, ma'am." Before she could continue to harass him for answers, he turned to the next person in line. "Can I help you, sir?"

Brooke was practically seething as the man began asking him where they kept something. Storming out with the cart, she began loading up the groceries into the car, not caring whether or not something broke or not. No one had ever brushed her off like that before when she asked them something. And to be perfectly honest, she didn't like it one bit. Was it really so hard to answer a simple question?

And more importantly, who was that kid? What was his name? Why did he save their lives last week and why was he working for the demons if he was an ally of good? What was he? Was he a witch or demon? Friend or foe? Good or evil? And if the latter, then why did he save them?

"Susan, you had better not be here, because if you are then I am going to drag you over there kicking and screaming, demanding you—" Brooke stopped when she saw both Halliwells in the kitchen with Susan. Wyatt had his hand over Susan's, a healing glow emerging from it. "What happened?"

"The demon hit Susan with some kind of needle," Chris said, gingerly picking something up off of the table. "I wasn't going to take any chances. Your hand feeling okay?" he asked Susan.

"Yeah, it doesn't feel weird any more," she answered before looking at Wyatt. "Thanks."

The elder Halliwell nodded once before standing up to greet Brooke with a quick kiss on the cheek. Brooke cast a glance towards Susan, who was trying to ignore this exchange.

"So did you find out what they want?" Wyatt asked, glancing at the two investigators.

"Apparently, just people to work for them, but that doesn't explain why they're killing them," Susan said, placing her head into her hand as she rested it on the table.

"Unless they're stealing their souls," Chris responded. "You know, making some kind of Faustian deal kind of thing. Didn't Mom and the aunts do something like that about twenty years ago?" He directed this question at Wyatt, who nodded.

"Yeah, I think that was when the other you was there," Wyatt said, referring to the Chris from the other future, who had died saving Wyatt from turning evil. Chris got shivers every time that he thought about it, about what almost could have been had he not succeeded.

He didn't remember anything from the other future, but the picture that his mother had painted for him when he was fourteen was enough. That was the day that the demons had attacked and almost killed them both. Luckily, Wyatt had orbed in just in time to heal them. Chris had held on to his mother, scared that he'd almost lost her. She'd held him comfortingly and told him that she was here, she hadn't died this time.

Shocked, Chris had asked her what she meant by that. After calling his dad, they all sat down and his mother told him about the other future and about the time travelling back to save his brother. It scared him to death, but his mother assured him that the future had changed; it wouldn't happen this time around.

Noticing the girls giving them curious looks, Chris explained, "It's a long story. I'll tell you later. Back to the demons, though, I don't think that they're going to be stopping. I think we'd better check up on them in the Book then go after them again. We don't want them hurting anyone else."

--

It was half an hour later that they finally managed to find the demons located in the Book. Susan was making some potions, though Wyatt noticed that she kept rubbing her hand a lot, which was weird because he had already healed it. Apparently, Chris noticed the way that she was acting too, because he asked her about it.

But of course, she claimed that she was fine and continued working on the potions until Chris let out a triumphant shout. "YES! Found them!" he announced. Susan abandoned the potions to walk over to them, peering over Chris's shoulder.

Wyatt noticed that she sat down next to her and he reached over, squeezing her hand tightly. He rolled his eyes. When were they going to get over this avoiding each other and start dating? he wondered.

_I was wondering the same thing, _Brooke's voice broke into his head and his head shot towards her. She winked at him and shrugged. _Telepath, _she explained silently as she looked towards the two on the couch. _If these two aren't together by the time we vanquish these demons, then what do you say that we lock them in a room together and not let them out until they've settled this? _

_Won't work. Both of them can orb, _Wyatt pointed out.

_Yeah, but not if we cast a spell in order to prevent that,_ Brooke said with an evil smile at him. Wyatt smirked; it sounded like a pretty good idea. _And don't bother with personal gain. If these two don't get their act together, I'm going to go crazy and not be able to help _any_ innocents. So it's all for the greater good. _

_You've really thought this whole thing out, haven't you?_ Wyatt asked, impressed.

_Yep._

"Okay, so this demon is known as Anima Colligere, which means 'Soul Collector', roughly translated," Chris explained. "They collect souls in order to have them work as slaves for them. Apparently, it's so they can eventually turn them into demons after awhile, after they've forgotten their old life and what they use to be. Once the Collectors find a spot where there's a lot of good people that can be collected without suspicion, they shoot them with these darts or needles." He nodded towards where the one he'd gotten was lying on the table. "It inserts a poison into the system that starts working almost instantly. The poison starts moving through their system and starts providing them with demonic powers, which is why they were going crazy. Mortals' bodies are not equipped for powers, so they try and reject it, but the poison prevents that and starts breaking down their bodies. Eventually, their body dies and their soul is transported to the demons, who contain it until they can turn the mortals successfully into demons."

"That's sick," Susan grumbled. "They can't do that to people! It's not right and not to mention, is there a vanquishing potion or something?"

"Yeah, there's a spell," Chris said, scanning the page. "Problem is that you have to plunge one of his needles into his heart while you're saying it and I don't see him letting us get that close."

"Well, then, I guess I'll just have to freeze him while you do that," Wyatt said cheerfully. Chris glanced at him, eyebrows raised. Wyatt rolled his eyes. "Look, just because this freezing power is new doesn't mean that I don't know how to control it."

"Famous last words from Wyatt Halliwell," Chris mumbled none too quietly. Susan smothered a giggle as the elder brother turned to glare at the two of them.

"Oh, the two of you are so adorable," he said sarcastically. "You should get married."

Both of them stopped almost instantly and Susan's giggles ceased. "Wyatt!" both of them yelled.

"_That_ got their attention," Brooke observed. "Okay, so let's go track down this demon and then vanquish him so we can be home in time for dinner." Susan shook her head as she stood up, swaying slightly as she stood. Suddenly, she didn't exactly feel so good.

That was probably an under-exaggeration, though, she thought as grabbed hold of the arm of the couch. Her stomach was churning and she felt her limbs go numb and shake visibly underneath her.

"Chris," she whispered, though to hear it sounded like she was shouting. Everything sounded like she was underwater as she tried to get his attention again. "Chris."

He looked around at her and was instantly at her side, grabbing her just as she was about to lose her balance. "Susan!" he yelled, getting Brooke and Wyatt's attention from the kitchen. "What's going on? What's wrong?"

His face was very white as she looked up at him, trying to explain what was going on, but nothing came out. She seemed unable to articulate words, as though her mouth had suddenly forgotten how to talk. Susan wished that it hadn't, because she knew at that moment, there were so many things that she wanted to say to him.

But even before she could do anything, she felt her body start to collapse underneath her and then everything went black.


	4. A Leaf of Avalon

**Legacy: Dark Forces Rising**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Four: A Leaf of Avalon

Chris literally thought that he was having a heart attack when he'd heard Susan say his name and he'd turned around to find her bent over, trying to support herself by holding the edge of the couch, her face pale and pained. He had never been more scared in his entire life and he'd seen a lot of scary things in the family business.

Brooke and Wyatt had heard his scream and came bolting into the room, Wyatt ready to vanquish whatever had attacked, but this was not something that they could heal. After all, they'd already tried.

When he grabbed Susan, she had looked up at him with eyes that were filled with a million emotions and portraying thoughts and words that she apparently couldn't before she passed out in his arms. Gently, he laid her down on the couch, brushing a strand of her brown hair out of her eyes. She whimpered slightly at his touch.

"What's going on?" Brooke whispered, squatting down next to her best friend. She looked terrified. "What's happening to her?"

"I—I don't know," Chris stammered, feeling helpless and scared. _What's going on, Wy? _

_Dunno, little brother,_ Wyatt replied, joining them. His blue eyes were staring intently down at Susan. _I think it's got something to do with that needle she got hit with. _

_But you healed her . . . didn't you?_ Chris added, looking up at his older brother. Wyatt bit his lip and looked away, his expression ashamed. _You knew that you didn't heal her entirely and you didn't say a word? _Chris demanded, outraged.

_I didn't know until a few minutes ago, when she passed out, _Wyatt said hastily. _Honestly, Chris, I thought I healed her. Sure, she was acting a little strange and kept rubbing her hand, but I didn't think about it. _

Chris sighed. He couldn't put the blame on his brother for this one; he'd noticed she kept rubbing her hand too and hadn't thought about it, his attention focused on the demon. _Never again,_ he vowed.

"Should we call Mom or the aunts for help?" Wyatt asked, already reaching for his cell.

"No," Chris said firmly. "I don't want to go running to Mom every time that we get into trouble. We've just got to figure something out. The question is, what?" He rubbed his hand over his eyes as he stared down at Susan, who was still unconscious, though restless. She kept fidgeting and squirming.

"Do you think we should call Brandon for help?" Brooke spoke up, raising her head. Chris looked at her, confused. "Susan's . . . Whitelighter. Sort of, he kind of showed up here this morning. He said to call if we needed anything."

Chris sighed. "Sounds about as good a plan as any," he admitted. "Go ahead and call him."

Brooke nodded and stood up, glancing up towards the ceiling. "Brandon!" she yelled. "Brandon James, you get down here right now!" Her voice echoed off of the walls and the books on the shelves shook slightly.

A series of white orbs appeared and a young man appeared, looking towards Brooke expectantly. "You rang?" he said in a very Lurch-like voice. Despite the situation, Chris managed a weak smile as Brandon's eyes travelled over to the couch. Automatically, he swore. "I was hoping it would take a little longer for the poison to take affect," he muttered, heading over to the couch, glancing down at Susan.

"Wait, you knew she got shot?" Brooke wanted to know, looking incredulously at him. "And you didn't bother helping?"

"I was helping," Brandon said, looking annoyed, "I was down in the Underworld getting information about the demon and those darts. And I only knew because I followed you two this morning," he said, looking at Chris. Chris blinked. "Right after I saw what happened, I went to find out what this demon was and what he was doing."

"Yeah, we found that out in the Book," Chris said, nodding to the page that was lying open in front of them.

"Except the Book doesn't have all the information," Brandon replied. "Because Susan's a witch, her body was more equipped for powers, so she didn't show the usual signs that were in the paper. But the poison is still coursing through her and if we don't get an antidote to her—and soon—then she's gonna die."

Silence fell at the end of this statement and Chris stared down at Susan helplessly, trying to think straight. "Okay," he said, pulling himself together. "Okay, Brooke, how good are you at potions?"

She winced slightly. "The last time I attempted it, I almost blew up the house," she replied.

Chris shook his head. "Okay, here's the plan. You and Wyatt go to the Underworld and try and find out what the antidote is. If at all else, vanquish him if he doesn't want to talk. I'll be here working on an antidote in case he won't talk. Brandon, you keep an eye on Susan," he ordered. Brandon nodded as Wyatt orbed out with Brooke.

"Let's hope this works," Brandon remarked as Chris headed off to the kitchen. Chris glanced back at him and stopped when he saw the look on Brandon's face. It seemed . . . almost brotherly.

Chris shook his head, making a mental note to think more on it later as he headed to the kitchen to find an antidote, taking the Book of Shadows with him to search through the various poisons that were in there, hoping that the antidotes to those would help.

--

"This is the place that Chris said they were at?" Brooke asked as they reappeared in the alleyway. Wyatt nodded as they walked through the alley, their footsteps echoing through the quiet street. "It's creepy. You would think that somebody would be here."

"They might be," Wyatt said cautiously. After what had happened at the apartment, his instincts were in high gear. "Keep your guard up. HEY!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Whoever is the sick psycho who's been killing people here, get your sorry butt out here right now!"

Wow, Wyatt thought as the demon appeared. Maybe if he started yelling like his mother more often, people would listen to him.

"More witches?" the demon snarled. "Don't bother using your powers on me, they won't work."

Brooke snapped. Before Wyatt could stop her, she had tackled the demon, despite that he was two times bigger than she was, and had him pinned against the wall. "What's the antidote to the poison?" she snarled. The demon shook his head. "Listen, buddy, I'm not playing games. I've already lost the love of my life, I'm not about to lose my best friend, too!"

Wyatt froze when he heard that. What did she mean by that? he thought, horrified. Was Brooke already somebody else's girl?

But before he could even think about that, the demon said, "I don't know, all right? I don't even know if there is an antidote. There's never been a witch whose been infected before."

"Yeah, well I'm betting that you know darn well what the key ingredient to the antidote would very well be," Wyatt snapped, pulling himself together. He could dwell on Brooke later. "I'm not about to let my brother's girlfriend die! Tell us what you know or you're gonna feel the wrath of the Halliwells."

The demon's eyes went wide as he stared at Wyatt. "The twice-blessed!" he squeaked.

"I hate being famous," Wyatt sighed. Brooke grinned but shook her head as she tightened her grip on the demon. "You know, I don't think choking him to death is going to help matters much, Brooke."

"Makes me feel better," Brooke grumbled, but lessened her grip on him. "Tell us what you know."

Shaking his head, the demon said, "I don't know anything! They didn't tell me what the antidote was! I swear!" Brooke gave him a scathing look as she drove the needle, which she'd picked up off the table when they left, into the demon's heart.

"Come on, say the spell!" Brooke yelled as she ran back to him. Wyatt grabbed the piece of paper out of his pocket that had the spell written on it, his blue eyes keeping a close eye on the demon as he screamed in pain and fury. "Today, Halliwell!"

"_Evil that haunted here, praying on mortals' welfare,_" Wyatt chanted. With each word, the demon screamed in agony. "_With these words, no longer may you dwell. And free the souls of those you fell." _

As he finished the spell, the demon exploded into a ball of fire, leaving the two witches alone in the alleyway. Wyatt stood silently with Brooke gasping for breath. "Now what do we do?"

"You have to save her."

Both Wyatt and Brooke whirled around as a figure approached. Wyatt had his hands at the ready, about to use telekinesis on whoever was coming near them when Brooke stopped him. "Wait," she whispered, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the figure. "I think . . ."

As he came into view, Wyatt realised the figure was only a kid, barely even sixteen or seventeen. His hand dropped to his side as he stared at him, not knowing what was going on. Was this Brooke's long lost love that she'd been talking about?

"What are you talking about?" Wyatt demanded. "How can we save her if we don't have the antidote?"

"Once upon a time, magic was practiced upon the Isle of Avalon, where priestesses served the goddess," the kid replied. "If you can get a leaf from Avalon, it may be enough to help save Susan." His eyes looked between them as he stepped backwards.

"Wait!" Brooke raced forward, but he had vanished into the shadows. She sighed and shook her head. "Who _are _you?" she whispered, looking helplessly around her. Turning back to Wyatt, she said, "Come on, we need to get back to the apartment."

Wyatt nodded, though he looked helplessly towards her. "Wait, how are we supposed to get a leaf from Avalon?" he asked. "Isn't that just supposed to be a myth?"

Brooke stopped and looked towards him, a fearful look in her eyes as this thought crossed her mind. "I don't know," she whispered.

AU: Thank you everybody for the reviews! I'm not going to be able to update for a couple of days, so Merry Christmas to each and every one of you and Happy Holidays! Enjoy the Christmas holiday!

Lady Dawson


	5. Choices of Love

**Legacy: Dark Forces Rising**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Five: Choices of Love

Brandon raised his hand to rub it over his chin as he watched Susan as she fidgeted and whimpered in her unconscious state. The poison was really starting to take its toll on her, he thought as he glanced over at Chris in the kitchen.

"Hey, I don't mean to put any pressure on you," he remarked, "but she's starting to get really bad."

"Yeah, I know," Chris said, appearing in the room with a cup that was smoking slightly. This was the fifth batch that he'd tried. "Let's hope this one works." He squatted down beside Susan, brushing her hair out of her face gently. She stirred slightly at his touch. "Susan? Sue, open your eyes, please."

"Chris?" she mumbled, her eyelids fluttering open. Brandon let out a sigh of relief. "What's going on?"

"I need you take this for me, okay?" Chris told her, helping her to sit up. She groaned slightly as she leaned against the pillows, though in a sitting position. "That's my girl. All right, just sip this one, all right?"

"Does it take better than the last one," Susan mumbled as she sipped, with Chris's help, the mixture. Instantly, she made a face. "Your brews are getting messier."

"Did it help?" Chris asked anxiously. Brandon could tell, even without looking at her, that it hadn't.

"No, I'm sorry," Susan said as she curled up on the couch. Standing up, Brandon walked over to the window, staring out into the city of San Francisco. "I'm sorry I'm so much trouble and putting you through all of this," she whispered. Brandon glanced towards his charge and her neighbour, rolling his eyes at the ceiling.

"Why did I have to stay here and witness this?" he grumbled towards the heavens. He would've much rather gone with Wyatt and Brooke and taken some frustration out on some demons than hang out with his poisoned charge and her boyfriend while they whispered love talk to one another.

"You're no trouble, Susan," Chris said softly. "There's no place that I'd rather be."

"Even though you've gone through even antidote than you can think of and coming up with nothing?" Susan said softly. She was getting exhausted pretty quickly, Brandon noticed. After every antidote try, she seemed to get her strength back for a few minutes. This was the longest it had been, though. The last one had only lasted two minutes.

"I would rather be here than anywhere else in the world," Chris said softly, kissing her forehead gently. "I'm gonna go head back into the kitchen and see if I can whip up another potion."

Brandon nodded as Susan grabbed his arm. "Chris, I'm sorry," she said softly. He blinked as he joined her by the couch again. Brandon frowned as he stared at the pair of them.

"For what?" Chris asked her, shaking his head in confusion at Susan as Brandon raised his eyebrows. Apparently, he was as perplexed about her apology as Brandon was.

"For . . . avoiding you after—" Susan began and ended up in a coughing fit. Brandon seized a glass of water and hurried over to help Chris support her as she gulped the water down. Once she was able to talk, she whispered, "After the kiss. I'm sorry."

Chris shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he told her. "We'll—we'll talk about it after you're okay again. Listen to me, Susan," he ordered and she looked up at him, her eyes over-bright. "I promise you that we'll save you. Somehow."

Susan looked at him doubtfully. "Come here," she said softly and Chris bent down to hear what she had to say.

But instead of saying something, she captured him into a kiss, leaving Brandon extremely uncomfortable. When they broke apart, Susan smiled up at him. "Just in case you can't keep your promise," she told him, tracing his cheek tenderly. "Just so you know . . . I've got no regrets. None," she added firmly so he couldn't miss her meaning.

Chris smiled down at her as he stood up and headed to the kitchen. Brandon shook his head. "Couldn't you two take it into a room or something?" he remarked.

"If we did that, then you'd have to deal with the antidote," Susan told him pointedly.

Brandon chuckled, making a face at her. "That's a good point," he said just as Wyatt and Brooke orbed back into the room. "Oh, thank the gods," he exclaimed, though for different reasons than what the two obviously thought he was exclaiming for. "You're back."

"Yeah, Chris, get out here!" Wyatt yelled and the younger Halliwell hurried back from the kitchen. "All right, we got some information that could be helpful. It turns out that Brandon was right and the poison is still working on Susan," he said, glancing towards the witch on the couch. She raised an eyebrow in a "you think" way.

"The point is that the demon pretty much blew us off on information," Brooke said. "He's not even sure if there is an antidote. Even if there's a way to stop the poison."

"But then this kid appeared—" Wyatt continued and Susan pushed herself into a sitting position, wincing slightly.

"What kid?"

"The one who helped us last week," Brooke told her. Susan blinked in confusion and amazement. "Yeah, apparently we've got a friend in the Underworld. Now, whether or not he can be trusted is a completely separate subject. I, for one, am not—"

"The point is that he told us to use a leaf from Avalon," Wyatt interrupted. "And we have absolutely no idea how we're gonna get that."

"Avalon?" Brandon repeated with a laugh. "That's insane. Avalon's been destroyed for centuries. No one knows how to find it anymore. How the heck are we supposed to find it?"

"Yeah, I don't think we're gonna be able to bibbiti-bobbiti-boo it into existence," Brooke agreed. "Well, we could, but since we don't even know what it is, we could do something wrong."

"So basically what you're telling us is that the trip was a complete waste?" Chris asked. No one noticed the incredulous look that was spreading across Susan's face.

"Basically . . . yeah, that's what we're saying," Wyatt agreed. Brandon glanced at Susan, seeing the look that she had her face. "I mean, unless we can talk to the Elders and see if they have any other ideas on what to do, I think it's pretty much helpless."

"Okay, then we'll—"

"No!" Susan shouted. "No Elders! Brooke, you know how I feel about Their Royal and Mightinesses. There will be no contact with the Elders."

"Sweetie, we're kind of running out of options," Brooke told her gently. "Not to mention time."

"Well, you know, it would help if I was not the only one here who actually has some sense," Susan grumbled. Both brothers raised their eyebrows and Brandon stared at her. Brooke blinked. "I don't think that the kid meant Avalon as in the real place. It was also known as the Isle of the Apples."

"The Isle of the Apples?" Chris echoed and then it clicked. "An apple tree! A leaf from an apple tree! That's what we've got to use!"

"Finally!" Susan sighed as she collapsed back onto her pillows. "Do they grow here in California?"

"My mom has some apple trees in Wisconsin," Brooke said firmly, walking over to Wyatt. "Let's go. We'll be back in a jiff." They disappeared in a swirl of white lights and Brandon looked towards Susan.

"Just so you know," he told her, "the Elders didn't send me down here to annoy you. They actually did send me down here to help you."

Susan groaned and pulled a pillow on top of her head. Chris grinned and Brandon shook his head, patting her arm gently.

--

"Hello, anybody home?" Brooke called out, opening the door to her parents' house. The door squeaked open as she passed through, Wyatt right behind her. "Mom, Dad, you guys here?" No one answered and she glanced back at Wyatt. "I guess nobody's around, that's weird. Come on in, my mom's garden's out back."

"So your mom's really into gardening?" Wyatt asked as they headed through the huge house. "Man, this place is huge!"

"Yeah, my dad's got a really big business out here," Brooke said with a smirk. "Personally, I like being the rich girl. I'm good at it." Wyatt chuckled. "And yeah, my mom's into gardening, which is a good thing, considering that she's a nymph."

"A nymph?" Wyatt echoed. "Seriously?"

Brooke nodded, grinning. "Yeah, I think the Elders weren't exactly pleased by that one, but something made it slide on the forbidden relationship. They bent a lot of rules for them and I never understood why."

"Half the people that I'm related to wouldn't have even been born if the rules hadn't been broken," Wyatt reasoned. "In fact, _I_ wouldn't have been born if the rules hadn't been broken."

Brooke shook her head, her thoughts drifting to the past. "No, the way Mom describes it . . . it's almost like they gave up without even having a fight with them. And my dad never gave up a whole lot for the greater good. If a demon attacks him or Mom or me, he'll vanquish them, but he never goes out of his way to fight evil." She sighed as they headed out back. "I guess that's why I spent a whole lot of time out with Susan and her brother. They made it feel like fighting evil was the right thing . . . instead of just being a duty."

Wyatt was silent for a moment as he stared at her, seeming like he wanted to say something, but his blue eyes darted behind her. "Uh . . . is that your mom?" he wanted to know. Brooke turned around and sure enough, her mother was walking towards them.

"Hi, Mom," Brooke said with a grin.

"Hello, sweetie," Kathryn said with a smile, hugging her daughter. "What are you doing back here? Don't tell me that you girls are already in demonic trouble? You've barely been there two weeks."

"You know Susan," Brooke said lightly. Kathryn laughed. "Um . . . the thing is, she got poisoned by this demon and we've been trying to come up with an antidote to save her. We got a . . . tip that a leaf from Avalon would save her and Susan thinks—"

"The Isle of the Apple," Kathryn finished up for her. "I know, that name is known to us. So you have need of a leaf from the apple tree. Come," she said, motioning them to follow her.

Wyatt glanced towards Brooke before they followed the nymph through the gardens. He looked around the garden as they walked. "It's a cool place you have here, Mrs. Murphy," he commented, feeling as though he were intruding without permission.

"Call me Kathryn, Wyatt Halliwell," Kathryn said in a mystical voice. "You are known to many and will bring a time of great peace with you. But one cannot act alone. You need people to help you. Friends . . . family . . . love," she added. "Especially love. One cannot live without it. Love is what keeps us going, what makes us strong and wise. And if you can find a person who knows you as well as you know yourself, then that is the greatest love of them all." She smiled at Wyatt. "Be careful in your choice. Some relationships can cause great pain as well as great happiness. But love is not without hardships and trials. Every tale of love must have trials or you'll be left bitter and selfish. If you fight to love one another, then there is nothing you cannot overcome."

"Right," Wyatt agreed, wondering what she meant by that. Nothing that she said made sense.

"Here we are," Kathryn announced as they walked into a field of apple trees. "Don't just reach for it, Brooke," she said warningly. "You know better than that. Trees are not just twig and branches. They all are alive and should be asked their permission to receive their gift."

"I know, Mom," Brooke said as she knelt down beside the tree. "Spirit of the apple tree, hear me now. I ask for your help to aid my sister. She is near death and unless we can save her, she is lost to us. Please, help us save her. Grant us a gift. May we have a leaf from your branch?"

Almost as if some magic passed through Brooke, the wind blew gently and a single leaf dropped down from the tree she's spoken to. It rose and fell through the air until it dropped into her hand.

Letting out a sigh, Brooke got to her feet, the leaf clutched in her hand. "Let's get back," she said quickly, taking Wyatt's hand.

"Trust in each other now," Kathryn called as they orbed out. She smiled and shook her head. "You will have great trials, my daughter, and will have to prove your love. But how will you go about doing it?"


	6. Saving Susan

**Legacy: Dark Forces Rising**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Six: Saving Susan

Chris paced back and forth across the apartment as they waited for Brooke and Wyatt to get back. With every minute that passed, that was one less minute that Susan had. They were running out of time and it was driving him crazy. What was taking so long? he wondered just as Susan spoke.

"Um, you know, pacing isn't gonna bring them back any sooner," she told him. "It just makes it worse."

With a sigh, Chris walked back over to the couch. She moved ever so slightly, allowing him to sit down. Brandon was over by the window, staring out into the city. Or maybe trying to ignore the two of them, he thought. He had seemed pretty grossed out when they were talking and had acted a bit like an older brother.

"Sorry," he told Susan as she leaned against him, her chest rising and falling slightly. Brushing some stray hair out of her face, he held her tighter against him. "I'm just starting to get a little worried."

"Knowing Brooke, she probably got distracted by her mom," Susan mumbled. "Kathryn can kind of be a little . . ."

"Spacey?" Brandon suggested.

Susan looked at him, shaking her head. "No," she said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "I was actually going to say peculiar. And how would you know what she's like, anyway?"

Brandon shrugged, looking away again. "Oh, I might have crossed paths with Kathryn once or twice, Susie," he responded, a teasing grin appearing on his face as he once again called her by the name she had only allowed her brother to call her.

"I told you," she growled, "don't call me that. Only Ryan is allowed to call me that," she said softly, her thoughts drifting towards her twin for a moment. Chris's arms tightened around her.

"You're not going to see him any time soon, Sue," he told her firmly. "You're not going to die because I won't let you. It's joining to be a long time before you join him up there."

Susan stared up at him, confusion evident in her eyes. "How do you know about that?" she whispered.

Chris shrugged. "I guessed," he admitted. "At least part of it. I don't know the whole story, but I can guess what happened."

"Christopher Halliwell, you are way too smart for you own good," Susan grumbled, leaning back against the pillows just as orbs appeared in the room, materialising into Wyatt and Brooke, who held up the apple leaf in her hand triumphantly.

"Oh, thank the gods!" Chris exclaimed, seizing it as he jumped up. Susan shrieked as she almost fell off of the couch, having been using him as a pillow for the most part. Managing to seize the back of the couch and pull herself up, Susan glared at him and he managed a weak smile.

"Sorry."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Susan muttered. Wyatt shook his head as Chris hurried off to the kitchen.

"Have you had to put up with this while we've been gone?" he asked, directing the question towards Brandon. The Whitelighter gave him an exasperated look as he rubbed his hands over his eyes. "Ouch. I feel so sorry for you. Unfortunately, my brother's quite the romantic."

"And that's a bad thing?" Chris called from the kitchen. Brooke grinned as she walked over to Susan, sitting down next to her.

"How are you feeling, Sue?" she asked and the witch gave her an exasperated look. "Okay, I'll save that question for later. So, what's the scoop with you two, anyway?" she asked, looking towards the kitchen. "Have you two worked everything out? You guys getting in the mood yet?"

Wyatt let out a groan. Brandon rolled his eyes. Chris dropped a pan in the kitchen.

Susan merely shook her head. "You are so lucky that it takes too much time and effort to train a new best friend," she told Brooke. "Why don't you stay out of my love life and focus on your own? It usually has more details than mine, anyway."

"_That's_ for sure," Brandon said none-too-quietly. Brooke glared at him before looking towards Susan.

"I cannot believe that you're not giving me any details," she pouted. "What are best friends for, anyway? We're way past the stage where I'm supposed to give you make-up advice. Now, I'm supposed to explore every territory of your love life and give you advice on what you should do."

"Why should I bother telling you?" Susan muttered. "You'll just eavesdrop and find out everything anyway." Brooke glared at her before walking over to the chair opposite, throwing herself into it and sulking.

"Okay, potion's finished!" Chris exclaimed, hurrying back into the kitchen with a sizzling potion in hand. Susan pushed herself up as she sipped the potion, downing it in one gulp. And the entire group held their breath as she blinked, making a face.

"Success," she said dryly.

--

It took about ten minutes for her to regain full strength and by that time, Wyatt had called in a pizza while Brooke searched through the Halliwells' movie collection to find something to watch. "Why is it that boys never have any decent movies?" she grumbled.

"Are you kidding me?" Chris demanded, looking upset. "Those are some of the best movies ever!"

"Most of these are from over twenty years ago!" Brooke complained. "I mean, we've got _Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Eragon, Robin Hood . . . Sky High?_" she asked, picking up the DVD and looking at Chris bizarrely.

The younger Halliwell looked at the DVD curiously. "Huh. Wonder how that got in there," he commented.

"I borrowed it from Patty!" Wyatt yelled as he came from the kitchen, hanging up the cordless. "You know, I should . . . probably get that back to her," he said sheepishly.

"Who's Patty?" Susan asked as Brooke looked at Wyatt with an amused smile on her face.

"Our cousin," Chris told her. "One of Aunt Paige's twin daughters. The other one is Sam." He shook his head as Brooke barrelled back into the DVD collection, pawing through it.

"Brooke, just put in _Star Wars_. It's not like you seen it before," Susan said simply. "I mean, you can't push off a movie that you've never seen and say that it's no good. I for one happen to like it. And since I'm the one who has spent most of this evening suffering and in pain, I think—"

"Fine, fine," Brooke grumbled. "Which one? There's like . . . six here."

Susan looked around at the boys. "Hmm . . . what do you guys think? Start at the actual beginning or chronologically how they were made?"

"How they were made," Wyatt said.

"Actual beginning," Chris said at the same time.

"Screw both of them and watch the best one," Brandon said simultaneously. All three of them glanced at each other and the girls giggled slightly. Susan looked highly amused.

"So, how are we going to break the tie?" she wondered, glancing at Brooke. "We've got a three way vote here."

"But in order to watch it right, you have to start in the way they were made," Wyatt insisted, glaring at his brother. "Watching it chronologically in totally wrong!"

"There's a difference?" Brooke asked, blinking.

"Yeah," Susan said, grinning. "They were made starting with four, then five, six, a twenty year gap before one was made, then two and three." Brooke stared at her, shaking her head.

"Crazy," she muttered. "I guess we should start with four then, huh?" she asked, reaching for it. "Who was the idiot that thought up that up?" she asked, popping the DVD into the machine.

"The director," Chris said seriously as Wyatt walked over to Brooke.

"Can I talk to you?" he said and she looked up. "Privately?" She looked bewildered as she stood up, passing over the remote to Susan as they headed out to the balcony. Susan looked worried as she glanced over at Brandon and Chris, biting her lip.

"What's that all about?" she wondered. Chris shook his head, but Brandon had a strange expression on his face.

"Not all relationships get off to a good start, Susan," he replied as the doorbell rang. "That must be the pizza."

"I've got it," Chris said. Susan moved to let him get up and he headed over to the door to go pay the delivery boy. Meanwhile, on the balcony, Brooke and Wyatt were having a heated argument.

"You said the love of your life, Brooke," Wyatt reminded her. "What was that supposed to mean, anyway?" He was a little upset and angry that she hadn't even told him that she was seeing somebody else. What, had she led him on all this time for nothing?

"Wyatt, it doesn't matter, it's in the past," Brooke protested, her face flushed and upset. "Look, what I meant was—"

"People say things that they wouldn't when they're in a rage," Wyatt snapped. "It's called a Freudian slip, Brooke. And it usually says the truth. So you want to tell me or do I have to find out on my own?"

She was silent as she looked away from him, her eyes glistening with tears. "It's complicated," she whispered.

"Okay, so let me guess," Wyatt said sardonically. "You had a boyfriend before you came here and you guys broke up, but you're still in love with him and just using me to make him jealous. That it?"

"Not even close!" Brooke exclaimed. "You want the truth? Fine. I had a boyfriend before I came here, but . . ." She took a deep breath. "But he died, okay? He _died_. Back last March and . . . I loved him. He was my first love, Wyatt. I'd had boyfriends before, but nobody that I actually loved. He was the first. And then he was completely taken from me, without warning. I was going to marry him, but I screwed things up with him. I said things that . . . I can't take back. It's going to haunt me forever, what I said to him because he's not even alive to hear my apology."

Wyatt shook his head. "So what was this supposed to be, Brooke? Was I just the rebound guy?"

Brooke looked at him. "I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe."

With a nod, Wyatt felt his jaw tightening as he looked back towards the living room. "All right, listen to me," he said quietly. "We're gonna go back in there and watch the movie and eat pizza, but . . . I'm not so sure that I'm gonna want to see you anymore, Brooke."

"I'm sorry," Brooke said quietly.

"Yeah," Wyatt said as he headed back towards the apartment. "Me too."

AU: Happy 2008, everybody! Thank you for the reviews! There's only one more chaper left to this episode, so if you guys give me three or four reviews, I will post it later tonight. Thanks!

Lady Dawson


	7. Friend or Foe?

**Legacy: Dark Forces Rising**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Seven: Friend or Foe?

"So, do you think that we should be worried about them?" Susan asked as she trailed Chris through the grocery store. After Wyatt and Brooke had talked the previous night, both had maintained a perfect civil, but highly forced attitude towards one another. Neither had said what the argument was about, but it was perfectly clear that neither one of them were going to apologise anytime soon.

"If I know Wy, then something probably happened to make him snap," Chris said, picking up some chicken and inspecting it. "You know, he's my brother, but he doesn't do well in the romance department. He . . . he doesn't go for all that corny, mushy stuff. The longest relationship he ever had was with Whitney and they dated on again, off again since high school. She finally ended last spring when she moved away to Maine to be with this guy that her sister hooked her up with."

"Yeah, before she started dating Ryan, Brooke was like . . . the queen of the multiple dating scenario," Susan said, sighing. "I really think she's just gonna go back to that. Which is kind of a shame, because that's not the girl that my brother fell in love with."

"Are you afraid of that?" Chris asked as he set the chicken into the cart that she was pushing. "Her changing?"

"Yeah, a little bit, but you know, we both changed ever since . . . Ryan died," Susan said, looking up into Chris's green eyes. She loved looking into them because they made her feel so . . . free. As though she were everywhere at once, yet contained inside her tiny human body. "I guess that kind of thing changes you for good."

"What were you like before that happened?" Chris asked her. "How did you change?"

Susan stopped, surprised by the question. She had never really stopped to consider it; hadn't even thought about what she had given up. He had been her half-self and some part of her had died along with Ryan.

"I used to paint," she whispered. The simple fact dawned on her that she'd not picked up a paintbrush since March, had never even thought about it. She never once had gone a day without doing something artistry. But after Ryan died, it had all seemed so unimportant. "I don't do that anymore."

"Yeah?"

Nodding once, Susan stared at her hands. "I guess that it just didn't seem to matter because . . . nothing seemed to matter. Everything just felt like a really bad dream that I would wake up from."

"And now?" Chris had stopped to look at her, green eyes intense. "What does it feel like now?"

A lump formed in Susan's throat, but she forced it down, refusing to let herself become incoherent. "It feels like . . . I'm starting to wake up to realise that it's not a dream, but things are still going to be okay. I mean, it might be hard, but I'm not just gonna give up. I've got too much to live for." She smiled up at him. "You want to know what I was thinking last night?"

"Sure."

"I was thinking that I wanted to live because I didn't want to die without ever being with you," Susan said. She could feel the heat trailing up her face as Chris grinned, but she plunged on. "I want to be with you, Chris, and I mean the whole package. Boyfriend/girlfriend, I want to be with you and only you kind of thing." There, she'd said it.

Chris had a crazy grin on his face by the time that she'd finished and he set the bread that he'd been holding in his hands down into the cart. "Well, that's a good thing," he said, taking her into his arms. "Because I want to be with you, too." He pulled her into a long kiss, which she readily accepted. When he pulled away, he cupped her head. "You want to go see a movie tonight?"

"Definitely," she agreed with a laugh, though a bit embarrassed by the stares that people were giving them. Chris snorted and she shook with laughter as she buried her head into his chest.

By the time that people moved along, they had already finished getting everything on the list and were heading through the line. When they were almost to the register, Chris stopped. "Oh, shoot, I forgot Wy asked me to go get something."

"Go, I'll tell them to wait until you get back," Susan instructed and he dashed off, trying to get back before she reached the cashier.

However, this attempt proved avail as Susan was already loading their stuff onto the cart as the cashier scanned them. "My boyfriend went back to go get something," she told him, looking up at the cashier. "It'll be a minute."

"No problem," he said in a strained kind of voice. Susan blinked, recognising the kid behind the register. He obviously remembered her, too, as he made a weak smile, but didn't say anything.

Remembering Brooke said that he worked her, but had pretended not to know her, Susan said nothing but cast her gaze towards the nametag pinned to his work shirt. _Bobby_, she thought, frowning. Try as she might, she didn't remember anybody named Bobby, which pretty much threw out the idea that she knew him but didn't remember him.

In normal clothes, outside of the demonic ones he'd been wearing the first time she'd seen him, he looked even younger than he'd appeared originally. If she had to make a guess, then she would say that he wasn't any more than seventeen. And that might even be stretching it.

"Got it." Chris appeared behind her, handing the box of chocolate pudding to Bobby. "That's all of it."

"Your total will come to $30.23," Bobby said. Chris dug into his pockets and handed him a ten and twenty, reaching in his jacket pocket for a quarter when Susan produced the exact change from her purse. Chris grinned as she handed it to Bobby. "Have a nice day."

"Yeah," Susan said, casting him a peculiar look. She pushed the cart away from the line, still mulling over the situation. "You, too."

As she and Chris left the store, he glanced at her curiously. "What was all of that about?"

"That was the kid," Susan told him as they headed to the car. Chris raised an eyebrow in confusion. "The one that saved us last week, the one that told Brooke and Wyatt about the apple leaf . . . that's him."

"Are you kidding me?" Chris asked, looking back towards the store. "But how he be working for demons? I mean . . . why would he if he's really on our side? For what reason?"

"Maybe his parents are," Susan said softly. "I mean, he's just a kid, Chris, and if he's not even eighteen, then he's under his parents' authority. So if he doesn't want to be working for evil, then he's gonna have to work with the situation because he can't get out of it. I'm just taking a guess, but I'd say that's what he's dealing with."

"You're sure about this?" Chris asked, frowning.

"No," she sighed. "I'm not sure about anything, but I know that he's definitely not evil, even if Brooke's not sure about that. But we should probably be wary of him, because we don't have any idea about what his plans are."

"Still . . ." Chris glanced towards the store again. "He's just a kid."

"Yeah, and I vanquished my first demon when I was thirteen," Susan pointed out. "Since when do we stay young long in this occupation, Chris?"

Chris considered this and nodded as they finished loading the groceries into the car, climbing in and Chris pulled out of the parking lot, navigating their way through the San Francisco traffic.

Meanwhile, Bobby Connelly stood outside of the store, watching the two witchlighters carefully, his eyes worried as he watched them drive away. Closing his eyes, he materialised away, down to the Underworld.

"Ah, young Master Connelly," the demon said as he reappeared. "How pleasant to see you. I take it that your father is pleased with our results? We did manage to infect the young Dawson witch, didn't we? That demon we hired is much better than we anticipated."

Bobby made a quick movement with his hand and fire streamed out from it, plunging into the demon as he sent it. The demon howled with pain and anguish as he was engulfed by the flames.

With a sigh, Bobby ran his hand through his hair, leaning against the wall. "If she finds out," he muttered, "then there's no going back. But I can't do that. Mom needs me." His mother, under control due to a spell his father cast over her, who obeyed his every command without question. In rare moments, she was able to break free of the spell, but it never lasted long. But during those times, she was always trying to get him away.

But it wasn't going to last for much longer. The pretence of not knowing her would fade away eventually and she would find out the truth. If she began searching . . . if she learned the truth . . . she would find the answers . . . and she'd never give up, not until she helped him.

"Don't help me, Susan," he said quietly. "Stay away."

--Fade to Black--

End Credits

Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Connelly

Sienna Guillory as Kathryn Murphy


End file.
